Mark 8:22-26
Over the years I’ve encouraged people who have struggled with an overwhelming sin like addiction to consider something as it applies to being born again in Christ. That is, the ongoing spiritual education made accessible to us in that moment. We’ve all heard the testimonies of hardcore addicts who proclaim that in the moment that they accepted Jesus as their Savior every craving was taken from them in an instant. I have absolutely no reason to doubt that claim, we know Jesus can sure do it. What I would offer by way of counsel to anyone who makes that claim though is this.
Don’t take the feeling of total release from bondage for granted. Don’t assume that Jesus has saved you so that you can go on your merry way. I’ve always contended that sticking to the narrow path that leads to eternal life is a learning process and that Jesus’ desire has never been to simply save us, but to teach us. Constantly. Every day. For life.
We’re blessed beyond reason to have Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but we’re blessed even more by our ability to also call Him, “Rabbi”. Teacher.
The gospels overflow with accounts of miraculous healings and supernatural acts that were meant to help the people of the day come to see that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Some people got it, many others didn’t. The fact of the matter is these days we don’t have the ability to find out what those who were healed thought or felt in that moment. But we do have educational treasures left to us by Jesus, found in places like the Sermon on the Mount. The parables. The documented time He spent teaching His apostles.
We can never thank Jesus enough for the Heavenly gifts that come to us from the cross, grace and mercy and forgiveness of sin. But great as those things are, we as believers need to never lose sight of the great “earthly” legacy Jesus leaves for us in His Word. That is, the actual words He spoke that we can turn to every single day so that we never lack direction in our lives. We’re never left flailing around looking for solutions to the trials of life. The Words of Jesus have the power to guide us through each and every challenge life throws at us. But if we receive that Holy Spirit without relying on the ongoing wisdom of the rabbi, my goodness we miss out on so much.
His Word lives. It breathes. Every time you prayerfully go to it, it will teach you something new. Because of that, it’s vitally important for us to yes, glory in the moment of being born again but understand that as a “newborn” we need to feed, we need to learn everything Jesus has for us in order to constantly strengthen that relationship. It’s a lifelong endeavor.
I encourage you to take a few minutes to read and meditate on Mark 8:22-26. It’s Mark’s account of Jesus’ healing of the blind man in Bethsaida. It’s interesting on so many levels, maybe the most unique healing of Jesus’ ministry.
It’s different because Jesus draws the man away from the crowds in order to heal him. And although He restores the man’s sight, He doesn’t do it all at once. It’s a process. The healing that comes is gradual.
Why…because each step in the process is strengthening the man’s faith. He needs Jesus to reveal His glory in a gradual way so that the man, spiritually speaking, can hunger for more. Jesus also heals the man incrementally for the benefit of the apostles who are present and witnessing it all. A commentary I read gave this insight. Jesus probably chose this method of healing as a means of illustrating to His disciples that spiritual blindness will be healed, but gradually. And the reason for that is clear. If we didn’t have a desire to know more and more about the nature of Jesus – a process that again should last a lifetime – then we miss out on all that He has for us.
The miracle of being born again stands on its own but the true joy to be derived from that moment only comes about fully when we decide to see our Savior as “Rabbi”.